Time travel turned into music

Now that I've spent several hours watching videos on YouTube ripping apart the final season of Game of Thrones , which has only increased my hatred of this unworthy ending, I'd like to turn my attention to something more enjoyable: Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. I'm not going to talk about the gameplay here, because the game deserves its own review, which I'll provide when the time comes. I'm mainly talking about the soundtrack here.

I only got into this time-honored series of turn-based strategy games with the 5th game. One, if not the highlight, is the soundtrack of the Civilization-series. Right at the beginning, we are greeted with a triumphant main theme (Sogno di Volare (The Dream of Flight)), a hymn of praise to the human urge to explore, which never fails to inspire me. The track was written by Christopher Tin, who also wrote the Baba Yetu für den Vorgänger geschrieben hat. Ich weiß, der Track mag vielen vielleicht sogar zu pathetisch sein – aber darum geht’s ja gerade. Wir erheben eine Zivilisation aus den simplen Anfängen in der Antike bis hin zur weltumspannenden Supermacht. Da darf es auch ruhig im wahrsten Sinne epochal klingen.

Games from the Sid Meier's Civilization-series

Sid Meier’s Civilization (1991)

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI (2016)

At the same time, the soundtrack of the Civ-games is also a prime example of excellently realized, thematically appropriate background music. As it is about civilizations long past as well as current ones, meticulous care is taken not to present the player with anything culturally inappropriate - both in terms of content and audio. There is no cross-faction music, but individual themes that encapsulate the character of each civilization.

Due to my lack of knowledge of traditional Scythian tunes, I can of course only judge to a limited extent whether soundtrack composer Geoff Knorr has succeeded in this. But for Germany, for example, the folk song Ich habe die Nacht geträumet (I have dreamed last night) from 1775 was adapted, which in my opinion wonderfully captures the spirit of Germany, which has only existed in this form for about 150 years, without it going completely in a historically conditioned military or these-are-the-baddies direction, but almost taking on a Wagnerian quality.

In general, the work that went into restoring the music of cultures that perished long ago must be emphasized. In a behind-the-scenes video for the predecessor, Sid Meier’s Civilization V, Knorr explains that ancient fragments and recordings were used for the compositions in order to reconstruct the music of our ancestors. A huge effort when, in comparison, you could simply compose something that sounds tribal or primeval. This gives us at least a remote idea of what the music of the Sumerians, who lived in the Persian Gulf region around 4500 BC, might have sounded like. And also what a modern adaptation of this ancient melody might well have sounded like.

That's right, not only does each civilization have its own theme, which is often taken from a folk song, such as the famous Kalinka for Russia. No, four versions were also composed, each for one era. Each version reflects the spirit of the time and the growth of your civilization. The further you progress through the periods of humankind, the more complex the music becomes, turning a simple melody into a symphony of several instrumental layers. In ancient times, for example, Scarborough Fair by the British is played by a lone string player, while in the Middle Ages, bells and drums give the theme a feudal touch. In the industrial era, the piece then experiences an unprecedented dynamism and drama, building up and exploding almost orgasmically in the main theme. In the atomic age, synths and additional effects are added, giving the whole thing a futuristic, or at least modern, feel.

For me personally, as you may have noticed from the description, the tracks about the industrial age are the most worth listening to - but of course everyone has to decide for themselves. But you should bring plenty of time to listen to them: There are 19 civilizations with 4 tracks each in the main game, so it can take a while. Of these, I liked the motifs of Arabia, China, England (my absolute favorite), Germany (2nd place), Japan, Norway (3rd place), Sythia and Sumeria the most. Now the question almost arises as to whether these songs perhaps make use of stereotypes, like musical tropes of certain countries? Some do, but is that a problem? In my opinion, no. After all, isn't a nation's self-image and identity also based on its musical self-image, which is not least reflected in the national anthem? And isn't an appropriate adaptation of folk tunes the perfect way to express this culture?

Maybe I'm creating a problem that isn't really there. I haven't heard any complaints about the music of Sid Meier’s Civilization , but when it comes to real-life examples, you always have to be a bit careful when depicting them in video games - looking at you Call of Duty. Finally, the question: Can I recommend the soundtrack of Sid Meier’s Civilization VI empfehlen? Definitives „Ja“, voll und uneingeschränkt. Wer es simpel mag, kann sich an den einfachen antiken Melodien erfreuen, wer auf epische Aufarbeitungen nationaler Identitäten steht, kann den Zeitstrahl weiter in die Moderne ablaufen. Ach, und vielleicht sogar das Spiel dabei spielen – das ist nämlich ähnlich gut!